Santana Lopez And The Hufflepuff's Ring
by Staccato Rhythm
Summary: When Quinn looked up from her inspection of the shaking students, it was to find Santana looming over the dead Hufflepuff. HP Brittana.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee**

A/N: Just something I've been hammering out for the past couple of days. I've been slowly working on 'Pacifiers, Packed Lunches and Big Kid Beds' but what with my new scheduel it's been an uphill battle. I suppose this is my way of apologising for the lack of updates. School's kinda kicking my ass. I even have to plan out my _showers_, not to mention my writing.

Also, a big huge THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed my work lately. I have read all of your kind words and would love to reply to you all but it's just not possible at the moment. Just k now that I am so greatful to each and every single one of you readers! -happy face-

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><p>-Santana Lopez And The Hufflepuff's Ring-<p>

"You're late."

Santana dodged a hex with a neat little spin and disarmed her attacker with a quick flick of her wand at the same moment that Quinn dropped to the floor to narrowly miss a giant's swinging club flying for her head.

"Got caught up near the Hufflepuff Common room," Santana coughed out through debris dust as they clambered wearily to their feet. Quinn gave a terse nod that did not hide the panic in her eyes.

"Did you find her?"

Santana gritted her teeth and shook her head. "I'm desperately hoping she evacuated with her little sister."

"Avada Kedavra!" some nameless Death Eater cried and Santana shoved Quinn out of the way screeching "PROTEGO!"

The killing curse rebounded and hit a lumbering giant square in the chest. Its eyes popped wide and he tumbled to the floor, squashing their attacker under his dead weight. Quinn winced at the less than dignified death but quickly shook herself to attention when Santana took off down the courtyard with her wand brandished in the air dangerously to join a few witches trying to take down a hulking spider.

"SANTANA!" the blonde Ravenclaw roared against the battle noises vibrating in the air. She took off after her friend, hair flying wildly as she pushed her way through the fighting and shot spell after spell in a bid to stay alive until she could reach Santana.

With her ragged breathing in her ears and the rapid _thump thump thump_ of her heart desperately beating to keep her alive, Quinn couldn't help but wonder how the hell they'd gotten to this point. This point where her classmates were dying all around her and the wizarding world waited in bathed breath to see if a school of wizarding children could protect them from Voldemort's advances. They were literally the last ones standing between the Dark Lord and total conquest.

"SANTANA!" She cried, unsure of whether the girl could hear her over the defeaning roar of battle. "SANTANA, YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!"

She saw her dishevelled friend halt and aim a hex at one of the spiders many eyes. It had already killed some ginger haired fourth year who now lay in a bloody heap on the stone floor and had begun to advance on the other quivering girls with murder as its intent.

"Confringo!"

Santana's spell hit its mark and the spider shrieked as it erupted into flames upon contact. It flailed about and almost took out another student had Quinn not shoved them all to the ground until all that remained was its still burning remains on the blackened stone.

When Quinn looked up from her inspection of the shaking students, it was to find Santana looming over the fallen one a little ways off. The blonde shakily made her way over and dropped to her knees besides Santana. The dead girl's porcelain features were marred with ugly bruises and streams of blood oozing from an open gash on her scalp trickled over her cheeks until they hit her uniform, staining it. Her hair was matted and her eyes were closed softly over long lashes. It almost looked like she was sleeping.

Santana was frozen stiff. The Ravenclaw knew why. The girl's tie fluttered slightly in the artificial wind created by apparating wizards and the flight of rubble in the air. This young innocent fighter with the Hufflepuff tie could have well and truly been...

"Quinn! Santana! Boy, am I glad to see you!"

Santana and Quinn turned briskly to see Finn hobble his way through a thick dust cloud. He was not alone. Behind him, fighting off various attackers, was the near entirety of their little ragtag group here at Hogwarts; minus their Muggleborn friend Sam Evans who'd gone deep into hiding at the start of the year. Quinn didn't think she had ever been so thrilled to see them in her entire life.

The two girls launched themselves at the closet people they could reach; Kurt and Finn.

"Is everyone here? Are we all ok?" Quinn fired at the towering Gryffindor.

Finn nodded, his features tight with stress and marred with blood that was not his own. "Everyone's here except for Brittany and Puck. Someone told me Rachel evacuated."

Santana's head turned sharply at the mention of the Hufflepuff girl and Quinn grimaced at the pure fear in her gaze as she looked at Finn. Kurt had his arm around her and was whispering comforting things in her ear as her shoulders shook.

"All the Slytherins evacuated with the under-aged kids," Mercedes informed them, "Puck's probably safe in Hogsmead with Rachel by now."

Quinn shook her head vehemently. House reputations be damned, she knew for certain that Puck and Rachel would be somewhere inside the castle fighting for them. And she told them that.

"Well, we have to find them then," Mike said simply. "No one fights alone."

"What Mike said," Tina agreed. "I say we go back inside the castle and try to find them."

The group turned to do just that and Quinn stepped forward to follow them, her heart aching to find Rachel alive, until she felt someone grasp her wrist in a tight hold. She spun to face a distraught looking Santana with tears in her eyes that threatened to fall at any moment.

"I have to find Brittany," she said urgently.

Quinn grasped her hand back in return and tugged. "Then come with us, she's probably in the-"

"No!" Santana's eyes were wild and the Ravenclaw took a step back. "She's not in there. I know she's not in there. I already tried to find her inside and I couldn't."

"It's a big building, Santana. Look, with all of us it'll be easier to find he-"

"Quinn you're not listening to me! _She's not in there_!"

"How on earth do you know that?" She was getting impatient now and the fighting was nearing their corner making her fidgety.

Santana was running a shaking hand through her loose hair, eyes on her shoes as she began to speak and all Quinn could think was 'we really don't have time for this'.

"Do you remember when we were talking to the portrait of past Slytherin Chaser Sue Sylvester in the trophy room? And she told us that her greatest achievement was loving her older sister with everything she had? And that, when you love someone so fiercely, you have this invisible tether connecting you and no matter how far you are you can feel them?"

Quinn nodded, at a complete loss.

Santana raised a terribly shaking hand, the hand that was carrying her wand, and placed it over her heart. "My tether is connected to Brittany. I feel her. And she is _not_ in the castle."

Quinn went silent as she took in her best friend of six years. Six years. She and Santana had met on the first day of Charms where they'd been paired up and ordered to levitate a feather into the air. It had taken three tries and a wand jab in the eye before they'd agreed to forge their now legendary friendship.

And then Brittany had waltzed in on their little duo with sunshine and smiling eyes and an old issue of the Quibbler held protectively to her chest. She and Brittany had been in the same Transfiguration class. Brittany had been that one student people still talked about who'd transfigured her desk into a piglet, a feat McGonagall still couldn't believe or explain. Quinn had been so impressed she'd invited the blonde to spend their lunchtime in the courtyard. It was Quinn who had introduced her to Santana that day and from the get-go they had both been smitten.

They were her best friends. Her closest allies. Her sisters in everything but blood. So she believed without a shadow of a doubt that Santana and Brittany were connected upon something fundamental and ... magical.

"Ok," Quinn said. "Ok. Do we go looking in the Forbidden Forest or ... near the boathouse or what?"

Emotions passed over Santana like water. Disbelief, wonder, awe and finally overwhelming affection. She crushed the blonde tightly in her arms and Quinn closed her eyes in the embrace.

"You have to go to the castle and find Rachel. I know you'll never live with yourself if something happens to the hobbit. And you have to protect those idiots we call friends."

Quinn pulled back. "What about you? I can't let you go alone."

"I'll be fine." Santana sighed unsteadily. "I have to find Brittany. But if I don't and ... if I don't come back ..."

"Don't say that, San," the Ravenclaw hiccupped.

Santana took a step out of the protective circle of Quinn's arms and glanced over her shoulder where the fighting was picking up momentum. "Just ... just tell her I love her, Quinn."

And with those words she took off into the fracas, leaving Quinn to swallow the lump in her throat and sprint for the castle.

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><p>Santana was stuck in a duel with a cackling maniac and losing. It was ridiculous. She'd taken out all the Death Eater's that had crossed her path in the last hour, had killed countless spiders and ushered some under-aged kids who'd snuck out to fight to safety down by the boathouse. And here she was, no closer to finding Brittany than she had an hour ago, and about to die. The thing that really bothered her though was the fact that the fighting had officialy ended half an hour ago. Voldemort was dead. Did this ass-clown of a minion not get that it was <em>over<em>?

The Death Eater laughed in glee. He knew he had her. Santana knew he had her. But she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She threw a curse that went disastrously wayward and instead hit a stone statue. Santana sagged down to one knee and gritted her teeth when she saw the Death Eater smirk.

"Nice try, little girl. Perhaps the Dark Lord will have a use for you in his army."

Santana whined as an intense prickling began down her spine. She raised her head slightly, the veins in her neck striking as she strained. "You bleeding idiot," she spat. "HE'S DEAD!"

The wizard growled and pointed his wand at her. "Crucio!"

"AAAAAAAAARGH!" Santana screamed, doubling over herself to try and rid the excruciating pain wracking her body. One electric thought hit her as the rest of her body twitched and heaved in agony. She was going to die alone.

"Get off of her!"

A growl. A zap and then silence. The curse lifted from Santana's body until all that was left was incredible numbness. She faintly recognised the sensation of the floor under her body and then flinched when she felt long silky strands of hair fall over her face.

Tears.

Santana blinked her eyes open when she felt the wetness hit her cheek. "Brittany."

Brittany stood over her, crying softly and palming her face. Her hair was wild and dishevelled with deep scars and marks all over her face, looking as though an animal had ravaged her. Santana had literally never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life.

"Brittany," she croaked. "_Britt_ …"

Brittany smoothened her hair down and smiled through tears. "I'm here, Tana. I'm here, I've got you."

"I can't move," Santana moaned.

Brittany cried harder and scooped up as much of Santana as she could in her arms, holding her close. "I've got you, Santana. Nothing can hurt you. I'm here."

"I found two more!" someone yelled and Santana looked past the blurry outline of Brittany's shoulder to find a few teachers stumbling over debris to reach them.

"We're going to be ok, Tana. I love you so much. We're going to be ok. Together. Oh Santana…" Brittany was sobbing into her neck, wet tears jostling Santana out of the thick fog of pain she'd been suspended in.

"Britt … your face?"

The Hufflepuff shuddered. "Werewolf," she whispered brokenly. "I know he scratched my face pretty badly but Madame Pompfrey say's I'll …I'll be ok. I won't become a wolf or anything. At least we don't think so. Please love me. I'm still Brittany. I love you."

"Beautiful," Santana murmured, eyelids drooping as the approaching teachers calls grew in frequency.

Brittany pulled back with questioning eyes and Santana yearned now more than ever to be able to move her arms and hold the girl she loved. Instead she felt the pull of unconsciousness tug at her mind and fought tooth and nail to ward it off.

"What?" the blonde whispered. "What did you say?"

"You're beautiful," Santana replied softly. And then her eyes rolled back in her head as she passed out, missing the truly animalistic scream that left Brittany lips.

"NO! SANTANA, WAKE UP! Someone help me! Ohmygod. SANTANA!" The Hufflepuff shook at the unconscious girl's shoulders desperately, sobbing and helpless until the teachers were upon her and pulling her away kicking and screaming.

Among them was Puck whose jaw trembled when he saw Santana lying small and frail on the battlefield. Several yards away lay the broken and bloodied body of a Death Eater. The Slytherin's eyes jumped to Brittany snarling and crying against two teachers, looking dangerously animalistic as she tried to fight her way back to Santana's prone body. He coughed out a tearless sigh and moved slowly, jumping when Brittany barked at him directly.

"Don't touch her!"

Puck stopped and glanced back to Santana. He reached for her once more but halted abruptly when he heard Brittany screech and saw her try to push over one of their teachers trying to calm her down. "Don't!" she sobbed. "Get away from her! Don't touch her … don't!" A roar rumbled through her chest.

"Britt! Brittany!" he heaved Santana slowly into his arms and moved carefully towards the Hufflepuff "I'm not going to hurt her! I'm just going to get her into the Great Hall, ok?"

Brittany stilled slightly, chest heaving and eyes wild and bright as she glanced quickly between Puck and the girl in his arms. The teachers between her slowly moved out of her way and she took the opportunity to quickly trip towards the Slytherin.

"Is she ok?"

Puck was no Healer but even he knew Santana would get through this. She was tough. She'd lived through the Cruciatus curse all year, taking a near daily dose when the Carrow siblings had ordered her to punish some First Years and she'd refused.

"She'll be fine." He carefully picked his way back towards the castle as the teachers continued on with some other students to look for other survivors. The Slytherin looked at the extent of Brittany's injuries and winced when he noticed her face and prominent limp. "You should get yourself checked out, Britt."

"Already did," she replied simply, eyes on Santana. "I'm fine."

"I dunno, those look like some nasty cuts."

"I'm fine!" She glared up at him and briefly touched Santana's chin with her fingers. "Will you just get her to the Great Hall already?"

They trekked in silence and separated only when Puck lay Santana down on the floor inside the Great Hall to be tended to by Madame Pompfrey and some willing students. He touched Brittany's shoulder with a tight smile and walked back outside to aid the search parties scouring the grounds. Meanwhile, Brittany knelt to the ground as the matron and her helpers worked on Santana. They undressed her and ripped her bloodied school shirt clean off, checking her pulse and forcing coloured liquids down her throat.

"Will she be ok?" Brittany asked frantically when Madame Pompfrey made to get up and attend to a new victim that had just come in.

"She'll be fine, dear. She just needs plenty of rest. That goes for you too. Lie down and take a nap. We're all safe now."

Brittany nodded slowly and snuggled into the unconscious girl's side, taking some much needed comfort from the contact. They were still alive. The war had been won and they were still here. Brittany closed her eyes and slept.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Quinn found Rachel speaking in what seemed to be a hurried gibberish mess to one pink faced Hermione Granger in the Great Hall. At her side, Ron Weasley looked almost queasy as he regarded the two women in what could only be described as utter incredulousness.<p>

As the Ravenclaw got closer, she was finally able to distinguish words coming from her girlfriend's mouth.

"… thus I hope Slytherin's contribution to the end of the war shall be taken into great consideration. We are not evil and devious wizards as so many people paint us to be. Many of us snuck back into the castle to fight and protect. This is our home just as much as it is to the other Houses."

Hermione looked to Ron with a helpless expression and the latter shrugged. "Of course, Rachel," said the witch once she had faced her again. "We know without a shadow of a doubt that Slytherin House has played its part."

"Make sure Harry knows that," Quinn said softly coming up to the trio and putting an arm around Rachel in the process. The Slytherin's eyes brightened at her arrival and she craned her neck to kiss her hello.

"Don't worry about that," Weasley put in awkwardly following the show of affection. "Harry knows not all Slytherin's are slimy gits."

"Ronald!" Hermione and Rachel barked.

"If you could excuse us," Quinn said politely, feeling a pang of sympathy for Ron. "I'd like to have a word with Rachel."

Hermione smiled at them. "By all means. Ron and I were just about to head towards the Weasley's."

"Mum's pretty shook up," he said in a gruff voice. "What with Fred and all."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Ron," Rachel murmured. Quinn nodded.

The Ravenclaw pulled her girlfriend away when the Gryffindor couple began to depart and marched them towards a dark corner of the Hall where no one would notice them. Then, she kissed her. Rachel looped her arms over Quinn's neck tightly and bit back a yelp when she felt the blonde's hands clutch at the small of her back.

"God, you had me so worried," Quinn panted between kisses.

"Me too," Rachel agreed, hands sliding into blonde locks.

When the fury and adrenaline had run out of their kisses, leaving exhaustion and relief in its place, Rachel detangled herself from the fierce grip the Ravenclaw had on her and led them towards the rest of their friends who were congregated around Santana and Kurt lying side by side on some makeshift bedding. Finn was besides his step-brother, eyes puffy and red as he held one of Kurt's small hands in his large rough one. Brittany lay curled into Santana side, awake and running delicate fingers over her girlfriend's face as she breathed evenly.

"We're all alive," Rachel breathed in awe. "Every single one of us."

At her words, Santana shifted and stirred. Everyone waited with bathed breath and gasped when her eyelids fluttered open and she groaned in pain.

"Bloody light," she cursed.

Everybody laughed in relief and smiled lovingly when Brittany broke into a fresh wave of tears and engulfed the girl in her arms, smothering her face with kisses and whispering her love and devotion between each.

"Don't scare me like that again, Santana Lopez!" Brittany said once she had pulled herself away, albeit reluctantly. Her hands clasped Santana's twitching ones and she beamed when her girlfriend responded to the touch by interlacing their fingers.

Santana chuckled as Brittany heaved her into a sitting position and let her lean back into her chest for support. She spotted Quinn with Rachel and smiled.

"You found the hobbit."

Quinn laughed when Rachel huffed and turned to inform Artie (the closest person she could find) that she was an acceptable height for any girl her age. "More like she found me just as I was about to become Ravenclaw chowder."

Santana raised her and Brittany's interlocked fingers, pressing a kiss to her girlfriend's hand. "Same here."

"Only you'd be Gryffindor flavoured chowder right, baby?" Brittany nudged the back of her neck with her nose.

"Right," Santana sighed as their friends doubled over in laughter.

"So now what?" Puck wondered aloud. "What happens to Hogwarts and all of us?"

No one had an answer for him. They all looked at each other until Finn cleared his throat.

"Kurt and I are going to take over our dad's broom shop," Finn said. "Kurt only until he gets enough money to fund his dream of moving to America and taking the wizarding fashion world by storm." There was a funny little smile on the Gryffindor's face.

"Tina and I are going to stay here at Hogwarts and help with the rebuilding. Hopefully we'll be able to pick up our studies next September." Mike threw an arm around his girlfriend and kissed her cheek.

"I'm probably gonna leave school early and take up that apprentice Healer job my dad's been dangling in front of me," said Mercedes with a proud nod.

Artie shrugged. "I think I'm going to travel for a bit."

"I'm with you, buddy." Puck fist bumped him.

"I'll probably finish school too," Quinn mused aloud, "See where my N.E.W.T's can take me."

"I agree with Quinn. School is very important for our futures now that we are guaranteed to have them. I'm also going to stay at Hogwarts and further my education," Rachel declared with a happy sigh as Quinn kissed the top of her head and brought her closer.

"What about you, Santana?" Quinn asked gently.

The girl in question bit her lip. "I dunno. I … I really didn't think I'd be alive for this."

"This?"

"Yeah." Santana rolled her eyes at her own vagueness. "You know, having a future. I didn't think I'd have one. I don't know what to do now."

"Be with me," Brittany whispered in her ear making Santana smile.

"That's a given," she whispered back.

"What about you, Britt? Any plans now that we can make them?" Mike asked as they all sat on the floor and leaned back in exhaustion.

"Plenty," Brittany chirped. "If Santana wants to make them with me?"

"Always," the Gryffindor replied.

Her eyes twinkled and the scars left behind on her face disappeared for a shining second as they each caught a glance of the old Brittany. The girl who used to mope before each Quidditch match because she thought she'd be too rough on the other players and catapult them off their brooms. The girl who'd kissed Santana on the cobblestone beach by the lake at twilight in their Third Year. The same girl who'd mused on whether the Dark Lord had been hugged as a child.

"Awesome," she breathed. "Because I was thinking about having a summer wedding at my parent's house. Ooh and Rachel you totally have to be one of my bridesmaids!"

Santana turned in the Hufflepuff's embrace and gawked. Quinn's jaw hung somewhere on the floor. Rachel looked positively thrilled and bounced several times. Everyone else looked various degrees of amused and unsurprised.

"Marry me, Santana?" The Hufflepuff asked simply, eyes oozing love and warmth as she grinned, the red angry scars on her face stretching with the pull of her skin as her smile grew when she noticed Santana's elated tears.

"Britt-Britt?" the girl squealed.

"I know I'm not as brave as you." Brittany touched her girlfriend's Gryffindor tie reverently. "And I know I've got these ugly scars and I may or may not feel the urge to howl at the moon sometimes now. And I know I'm not super smart like a Ravenclaw but you know what—" She smiled and kissed away one lone tear of Santana's that had travelled down her cheek. "I'm just a Hufflepuff. But I'm a Hufflepuff who's got a ring in her dorm room and a dream that you'll wear it."

Santana ignored her friends (the girls were wailing and the guys were beaming at her) and the rest of the Great Hall (some curious students were looking intently in their direction) and leaned up to kiss Brittany's face lovingly. Her girlfriend's eyelids slid shut and she trembled at the contact. "Beautiful," Santana murmured when she pulled away. "My future wife is beautiful."

Brittany's eyes fluttered open and she leaned down to kiss Santana with all the love and relief she felt in her body at the words.

"Looks like Britt and Santana found each other through this six year long crazy mess," Quinn pondered with a contented sigh as she took in the sight of her two best friends kissing sweetly.

"Well, you know what they say," Rachel said with a quirk of her lips. "Hufflepuff's are particularly good finders."

There was a beat of silence.

"Who the hell _say's_ that?"


End file.
